


Unexpected Connection

by Caitriona_3, GalahadsGurl, GrimmLegacy (GalahadsGurl), PackGirl (Caitriona_3)



Series: Complicated: The Epic Grimm Family Saga [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 15:20:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21376255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitriona_3/pseuds/Caitriona_3, https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalahadsGurl/pseuds/GalahadsGurl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalahadsGurl/pseuds/GrimmLegacy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitriona_3/pseuds/PackGirl
Summary: Marina's found herself forming unexpected connections with people her entire life and this is one more link in that chain . . . though she wishes it didn't need to come with stitches.
Relationships: Marina Petrovka & Nick Fury
Series: Complicated: The Epic Grimm Family Saga [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1489391
Comments: 34
Kudos: 36





	1. Unexpected Connection - Cover Art

**Author's Note:**

> Interludes are one-shots that help fill in spaces of the story . . . we hope you enjoy!

[ ](https://imgur.com/vKBDyVI)

_Don’t call someone brother or sister if you don’t give them enough respect or always have their back._


	2. Unexpected Connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are really excited to bring you this moment! Thought our readers would enjoy seeing it.
> 
> Takes place in 1997

GT UNEXPECTED CONNECTION

Over the years, people gave Marina Petrovka Kuryakina a number of titles: killer, assassin, spy, seductress, whore . . . wife, lover, partner, and – for a brief, bittersweet moment – mother. Some titles she embraced and made her own. Others she rejected and worked to move beyond them. One way or another, they all forged her into her current self – a woman who held her family and friends close to her heart with all the ferocity of a mama bear. Her inner circle might be a small, focused collection of people dear to her, but lately she seemed to be expanding faster than expected.

Prime examples? 

Hansel Kuhn and Maria Hill

Hansel could be explained due to his connection to Will and the boys. His acceptance and willingness to form connections with all of them earned him her stamp of approval. She’d have made a place for him in the family for that alone . . . even if he’d kept his distance and distrust of her. The fact that he’d learned about some of her past and **then** chosen to call her family? 

How could she resist that?

Obviously, she couldn’t.

She also found that she couldn’t resist Maria Hill. Her sudden and unexpected bond with the reserved young woman startled her. With the exception of her child-like affection for Melinda and Daniel Carter, the only friend she’d made since her days with the Red Room and the KGB had been Owen Elliot. 

At the thought of Will’s former right hand man, so long missing from their family circle, Marina felt her heart give a small wrench. A wrench that only deepened as her mind also drew up memories of the handful of people she’d once considered family so long ago in Russia. Even her most recent contact with Illya came in the form of a postcard . . . over five months ago.

So yes, her connection to Maria came like a bolt out of the blue. 

She’d never expected to make such a friend, especially not with someone so completely her opposite. And yet, the friendship felt easy, like a comfortable old sweater – warm and cozy. Marina looked forward to getting to know the other woman better. It didn’t hurt that her boys all found the relationship between the two women more than a little alarming. It made her smile every time she made plans to meet up for a girls’ night out. 

They had plans for such a night that very evening – a chance to drink and enjoy some female company without dealing with the men that surrounded them on a regular basis.

But that was tonight.

Right now, Marina strode through the halls, her confident walk enough to send people sliding out of her way. She needed that little boost of amusement to keep the smirk in place on her face. Her personal assistant, Stanley Brown, might be a wonderful person, but as an assistant? She repressed as sigh and had to admit the truth – he sucked. At some point over the past afternoon, Nick Fury sent a request for her presence . . . and she didn’t know how long ago that had happened.

Stanley couldn’t remember.

Tugging on the hem of her uniform sweater and smoothing down the wrinkles she imagined creasing her skirt, she picked up a little more speed as Fury’s office came into view. Marina liked the director – another unexpected idea. Granted, he made it hard to dislike him. Fury respected her boys’ abilities, every single one of them. Watching him listen with thoughtful attention as Kenny explained a new weapon he’d developed without any sign of superiority or impatience would have softened a harder heart than hers.

Not to mention relaxing some of Will’s suspicious barricades.

Fury’s efforts to keep them off the World Security Council’s radar as well as discouraging chatter among his agents went a long way to keeping them happy. No one could hide the similar appearances of the six men, so he did his best to keep the brothers separate when it came to work. Few people ever saw them together. Clint and Brian tended to be sent off on missions and Brian spent most of his time on base working as a hand-to-hand instructor for other field agents. Jason all but haunted Research and Development, lost in the labs with other scientific types, while Kenny worked in Ordinance. With Hansel working in different areas to get acclimated to his new world, Will in Analysis, and herself as a handler, only a select handful got to see them as a unit.

So as far as Marina was concerned? So far, so good . . . for now.

Ignoring Fury’s new PA – the man had a new one every week, and it hadn’t taken long for her to learn ignoring them expedited her needs – the woman shoved the door to the office open. “Sorry, I’m late,” she announced in a cheerful, breezy tone.

Her boss bolted upright in his chair, earning her instant suspicion. “Petrovka!” Nick barked. “Don’t you knock?”

That upped her misgivings and she narrowed her eyes on him. His bark possessed maybe half its usual strength . . . plus he fidgeted under her gaze. She recognized the behavior, having spent a good portion of her life surrounded by stubborn, independent men determined to hide and obfuscate injury to try and protect her from worrying.

“What did you do to yourself?” she demanded as she strode to his side. “Where are you hurt?”

His single eye blinked at her in surprise before narrowing into a scowl. “Going a little far, don’t you think, Major Petrovka?” 

“No.” She rolled her eyes, grabbing onto his arm and pulling him to his feet. A small stab of satisfaction shot through her when he stumbled a little, favoring his left side. Petty? Yes, but it would make her point. “_Upryamyye idioty; vsegda starayus' byt' chertovski samodostatochnym_!” Towing him by the elbow, she maneuvered him towards the couch on the other side of his office.

“I’m your superior,” he grumbled. “Just as a reminder.”

“I am older,” she shot back, the retort showing a jolly disregard for his muttering. “I don’t care! Where are you hurt, _pridurok_?”

He came to a stop beside the couch and glared at her. Arms folded across her chest, Marina waited in silent challenge. Stubborn Fury might be, but had **nothing** on her boys when they decided they were in the mood to be obstinate. 

It took longer than she expected, but eventually the pain caught up with him and he groaned, sinking down into the cushions of the couch. One hand pressed high up his left side. “You’re an evil woman.”

“Yes, yes,” she huffed, another roll of her eyes expressing her opinion of the comment. “I’m sure I’ve been called worse.” She pulled his hand free with one of her own as the other reached to tug on his shirt. Despite the no-nonsense attitude, she kept her movements gentle to avoid aggravating whatever injury he’d hidden under his clothes. Pulling the shirt free of his pants, she rucked it up along his side until she revealed a white bandage stained with red. Obviously, given the crooked and sloppy nature of the binding, he’d applied it himself – and had done a half-assed job of it.

“You’re an idiot,” she muttered as she pulled back to give him a disapproving frown.

“You’re a terrible nurse.”

“How the hell would you know?” she scoffed. “You didn’t even **go** to Medical.” Pinning his hand to the backrest of the couch, she gave him a firm scowl. “Don’t move.”

She didn’t fail to notice either his silence or his obedience as she turned her attention to removing the ill-fitting bandage. Utilizing experience gained over countless years of scraped knees and bandaged elbows, Marina removed the tape and peeled the cotton back to reveal an ugly gash under his arm. Gentle fingers prodded at the inflamed area and earned a muffled grunt from her reluctant patient.

“That hurts,” he grit out, single eye having turned its glare on the ceiling tiles above him.

“Of course it does,” she scolded, her tone the same as the one she’d used on her two youngest boys when they’d done something they shouldn’t have and got caught. “You’ve got a five inch gash in a sensitive area.” Leaning forward, she pressed against the wound and earned a muttered curse. “Furthermore, you half-ass treated it instead of letting someone help you, so now it’s irritated in addition to just being painful.” Straightening she fixed him with a firm glare. “Fortunately for your dumb ass, there doesn’t seem to be any indication of infection.”

To his credit, the man lay still as she poked and prodded him . . . mostly.

“Where’s your first aid kid?”

“My what?” he asked with a blink, surprised by the question.

“Half-assed or not, you patched yourself up,” she reminded him. “So clearly you’ve got a kit around here somewhere.” Her eyes scanned the office. “Where is it?”

He stared at her for a long moment. “I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what? It’s an easy question.”

“Why aren’t you scared of me?”

One eyebrow rose towards her hairline at the question. “Why on Earth should I be scared of you?” she asked.

“Almost everybody else is,” he replied, his gaze steady on hers. “You – and yours – aren’t.”

“With all due respect, Director, I grew up among very scary people.” Her mouth twisted at the memory of being a young girl in the Academy. “As terrifying as you are to the peons around here, you don’t even rank on the scales considering the people I grew up with; the people who raised me. And as for my people?” Her lips relaxed into a humorous smile. “Most of them didn’t have any easier of a childhood.” She put her hands on her hips and lifted her brows. “You might make most of your baby agents shake in their well-polished shoes, but you’ll never qualify to be one of the boogeymen in our closets.”

He smirked a little at the statement as he relaxed back into the cushions of the couch. “It’s kind of nice.”

“Oh?” Marina walked over to his desk and began opening drawers, unconcerned about the invasion of privacy. That first aid kit had to be somewhere; and if he wouldn’t tell her where to find it, she’d look for it herself. Rifling through his stuff, she finally came across a generic kit in the bottom of one of the drawers. She gave a sniff of disapproval even as she flicked the lid up and began to sift through the contents. It would do – at least until she could bully him over to Medical. “I’m disappointed in your kit,” she informed him. “It’s a lot less impressive than mine.”

Chuckling a little at her comment, his eye slipped closed. “Can I have you make me a promise, Major Petrovka?”

“Rather depends on the promise.” Her words came out in a distracted tone as she put most of her attention on bandaging his wounds. For a moment he remained quiet, only giving her the slightest of huffs in answer. As the silence stretched out, she flicked an eyebrow. “You have to ask if you want an answer.”

“Promise to always kick my ass if you think I need it.”

Fingers pausing in her work, she turned her gaze up to meet his and the two of them watched each other for a long moment before she angled her chin in silent agreement. “Any particular reason you think you’d need it?”

“I’m more than aware that I can get consumed with the endgame and not so much the steps to achieve it,” he replied. “As a result – I have a tendency to steamroll over people in my quest to get things done.” He gave her a small smirk, tone dry and amused as he continued, “Somehow, I don’t see that being a failing of yours.”

“To the unending dismay of my KGB handlers.”

“When Director Carter chose me to succeed her, I vowed to follow in her footsteps,” he admitted, one dark with confession. “She cared about people – so to this point, I’d argue that I’ve failed in that goal.”

“To be fair, it’s not typically a goal one achieves by themselves.” She finished her bandaging and smoothed down the tape before tugging his shirt back down and into place. Content that she’d done what she could for the moment, she leaned back and considered him. “Plenty of people around here who would assist you in this goal,” she pointed out. “Why me?”

“You’re not scared of me.”

“Neither is Misha.”

His lips quirked at the use of Will’s nickname, but clearly he recognized it. “True,” he agreed, “but he’s a soldier. He’ll tell me off, but you and I both know he probably prefers to follow orders and do his job.” Fury shook his head. “Brandt doesn’t want to be policing the boss.”

“Touché.” She thought about his request for a moment, letting the idea play around in her head. Too many leaders of organizations such as S.H.I.E.L.D. could get caught up in the chess game of law enforcement and intelligence gathering. Soon their assets quit being people and became pawns as they worked to outwit the other side. It became less the good of their country and more the thrill of the chase and the win. She gave a slow nod. “All right – I swear to kick your ass when you need it.” A wicked grin slipped over her lips. “I can guarantee you – it won’t be a hardship.

“Somehow I didn’t think it would be,” he laughed.

“Good for you.” She beamed at him. “All right – let’s go.”

“Go?”

“You need stitches and your kit is abysmally unprepared for what I’d need to be able to do sutures,” she informed him. “Now, if you were smart the first time and just come to me, I would have been able to take care of it. But no, you had to be an idiot and tried to treat yourself.” He glowered at her, but her sunny smile only widened. “Thereby you increased the inflammation in your injury, making it more sensitive to the touch . . . oh, and let me repeat – stitches!” Clasping her hands before her, she continued in a cheerful tone. “So now you get to go harass Medical into giving you good drugs, so you can sewn up.” When he groaned, she rolled her eyes. “Just in case you need reminding? This **is** your own fault.”

He pushed himself to his feet, slow and careful in his movements. “Your bedside manner leaves something to be desired.”

“My boys don’t have any complaints,” she giggled, shaking her head in amusement. He made a face, but she just pulled out her phone. Dialing a number, she grinned when he raised an eyebrow at her, but focused on her call. “Coulson, clear the halls – I need a fifteen minute window.”

“Fifteen?”

“Have Jason cover the feed.”

“Do I get an explanation?”

Marina’s lips twitched. “The top dog’s an idiot and we’re headed for Medical. We’ll want to limit the chatter.”

“Understood.” She heard the clatter of a keyboard. “Deck’s cleared in thirty.”

“Copy that.” Now she turned her smirk back to Fury. “We’ve got about half a minute to get you to the door.”

"It's not going to take me that long to get to the door. I'm injured, not invalid.”

Hobbling along beside her, Nick seemed focused on putting one foot in front of the other as they left his office and headed towards the Medical wing of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s headquarters. Marina kept herself quiet, letting him figure out his own thoughts. It took longer than she expected, but he eventually sent her a sidelong glance.

“So the next time I get hurt,” he probed, “you can do the stitches?”

One eyebrow winged up. “There a reason you’re looking to avoid Medical?”

“Apparently I scare people.”

She chuckled under her breath. “You don’t say?’ Reaching out, she pulled open the door to the facility. “In you get, Scary Man.”

Fury scowled at her before preceding her into the room. “I’m going to remember this.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m shaking.” Marina waved down a nurse who bustled over to take the director in hand. Arms folded over her chest, she watched the woman prod their boss past the doors separating the waiting room from the treatment rooms. One corner of her mouth twitched up as they swung closed behind the still scowling director. “I just bet you will.”

Sure enough, two months later, Nick Fury strode into her office, bloody hand pressed to his arm and another scowl on his face. Marina smirked at him as he shoved her door closed with his foot. “Need stitches, huh, Nick?”

“Are you going to do them or not?”

“Maybe,” she teased. “What’s in it for me?”

His eye narrowed on her for a moment, though amusement showed in the twitch of his lips as he tried – and failed – to suppress a smile. “A week’s vacation,” he offered. “For you and your boy.”

“Done.”

Pushing herself to her feet, she walked over to her cabinet and pulled out her first aid kit. She’d never tell him, but she started stocking it with additional thread and sterile needles for just this potential situation. Despite her jokes to the contrary, she could understand his need to be seen as almost untouchable by the people who worked for him. And considering her own family’s issues with Medical . . . well, Marina could admit to some sympathy with the intention to avoid the place.

One day soon, they needed to find someone they could trust to run it . . . _Bozhe, pozhaluysta_.

“Lose the coat and the shirt,” she ordered over her shoulder as she started digging into the kit.

“Bossy.”

“Indeed!” she chirped as she heard the rustling of cloth. Turning back with the supplies in hand, she rolled her eyes at the sight of the injury curving along the upper back curve of his bicep. Her inspection showed nothing unusual or odd about the wound so she started a deep cleaning. After that she stitched it closed, grateful for having long ago perfecting a steady hand with a needle. Finally, she wrapped the arm in gauze to protect the wound.

“Okay you can get dressed.”

Marina headed for her private bathroom as he pulled on his shirt. She washed her hands and disposed of the used supplies before moving back into her office. Nick had settled back against the couch, head tilted back against the backrest and eyes closed. A surprising jolt of affection fluttered through her, prompting her to pull open the lowest drawer of her desk and pull out two small glasses and the bottle of vodka she kept there.

A moment’s work and she approached, nudging him with the shot glass. “Here.”

That single eye cracked open, examining the glass before lifting to her face. “Something I should know?”

“Call it medicinal,” she replied. When he eyed her, she sipped her vodka and closed one dark eye in a brief wink. “Do you want to know?”

“No, not really.”

Her smirk smiled into a bright grin as he tossed back the shot. “Nick,” she chuckled, toasting him with her own glass, “I think this is the beginning of a fantastic relationship.”

The man wore his habitual scowl, but fondness gleamed in his single eye as he watched her for a long moment. “You know what?” he asked, leaning back and closing his eyes once more. “I think you might be right.”

“I always am.”


	3. Unexpected Connection Cast List

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably wouldn't do a cast list for interludes, but some we've got planned in the future will have people we want to show . . . so we included it here.

[](https://imgur.com/ahvTpzd)

[](https://imgur.com/OvQ5OkX)

Evangeline Lilly as Marina Ivanova Petrovka

[ ](https://imgur.com/2JCGi6Z)

Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nicholas "Nick" Fury


End file.
